1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to searching chemicals referenced in chemical literature. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to a molecular level similarity search process and computer aided drug discovery process.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of chemical literature sources include references to chemical compounds and molecules. The references express the chemical structure for compounds in a variety of ways. For example, a chemical research paper may include a reference to hexane (an alkane hydrocarbon). Alternatively, the chemical research paper may include a reference to C6H14 (i.e., a molecular formula for hexane), CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 (a structural formula for hexane), CH3(CH2)4CH3 (a structural formula for hexane), C3H7 (an empirical formula for hexane), etc. That is, literature sources may refer to a compound or molecule using a variety of distinct names and formulas, some of which are long and complex.